Annual Survey of Small Businesses: Scotland 2005

In 2004, Scotland set out its framework for economic development in Scotland (FEDS) in which the Scottish Executive confirmed that four objectives were fundamental to its policy:

• economic growth, accelerated and sustained through greater competitiveness in the global economy
• regional development, so that all regions can enjoy the same economic opportunities and contribute towards national prosperity
• closing the opportunity gap so that all in society can enjoy enhanced economic opportunities
• sustainable development in economic, social and environmental terms.

To assist with this aim, the SBS carried out an annual survey of the experiences and opinions of the owners of small businesses in 2003 and 2004. These built on previous experience with its omnibus survey of small businesses. This document is the report of the third, 2005, edition of the new survey.

It should be noted that, for each of these annual surveys (in 2003, 2004 and 2005) the Scottish Executive gave additional money to enable the survey sample in Scotland to be boosted to facilitate further analysis. Fieldwork for this survey took place in the Autumn and Winter of 2005/06.

The survey sought to:

• monitor the needs of small businesses, assess their main concerns, and identify the barriers which prevent them from fulfilling their potential
• act as a sounding board for possible government actions to help small businesses
• record small businesses' expectations of government business support.